Bihani Sarkar is a Calcutta-born, Oxford-educated, scholar of classical Sanskrit literature and pre-modern Indian history and religious traditions. Her most recent book is Classical Sanskrit Tragedy: The Concept of Suffering and Pathos in Medieval India.
Daniel Simpson is the author of The Truth of Yoga, an accessible guide to yoga history and philosophy. This episode was previously recorded as part of the Future of the Yoga Teacher Summit and is being republished for its depth and relevance.
The Oxford Dictionary defines passion as a strong and barely controllable emotion. Many so-called positive emotions fit that bill. So what happens if we experiment with touching sorrow in times when we feel the most euphoric of highs? Cultivating the opposite in all situations, even in times of elation, prepares us for the inevitability that we will at some point feel the lowest of lows.
Just as each feature of cosmic order has an essential nature, cosmic order itself has an essential nature. Bringing ourselves into harmony with the essential nature of cosmic order is the way by which we can live peacefully in the world. Conversely, dissonant action relative the essential nature of cosmic order brings about chaos and destruction.
My formulation of spiritual citizenship grew out of what I learned over two decades in Trinidad working with dynamic religious communities informed by ancestral and contemporary West African faith practices….
In her research, Anya Foxen focuses on the intersection of South Asian yogic and tantric traditions and Western esotericism and metaphysical spiritualities.
Diane Dreher, Ph.D., is a bestselling author, researcher, and positive psychology coach. This conversation focuses on her latest book, The Tao of Inner Peace.
Gavin Flood is the Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and author of the recent books Religion and the Philosophy of Life; Hindu Monotheism; and The Truth Within, a History of Inwardness in Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.